A lawyer for Elon Musk urged a federal judge to review a recent jury verdict finding that Musk defrauded Twitter investors when buying the social media company, saying jurors improperly used the verdict to “send a message” by finding him liable.
In a letter filed yesterday in San Francisco federal court, Musk’s lawyer Alex Spiro accused jurors of “mocking” his client by writing the number “$4.20” in bright blue on the verdict form, though the remaining entries were written in black.
The number 420 is associated with marijuana culture.
Musk, the world’s richest person, has often mentioned 420 in interviews and tweets, and used it in business activities.
He valued Twitter, now known as X, at $54.20 per share in his $44 billion buyout.
Spiro said the jury’s “numerical joke” was “no doubt intentional,” and when added to other alleged trial errors called into question the March 20 verdict, where damages could reach $2.5bn.
He said “further inquiry” by US District Judge Charles Breyer, who oversees the case, was needed.
“The inescapable conclusion from the face of the verdict form is that the jury felt it appropriate to use its verdict to send a message to Mr Musk, instead of properly discharging its solemn duty to render a just verdict,” Spiro wrote.
Frank Bottini and Mark Molumphy, two of the investors’ lawyers, in a joint statement called Spiro’s letter meritless.
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